Selangor police chief Shazeli Kahar said police were determining if negligence or a breach in SOP allowed Pakistani detainee Muhammad Hassan, 24, to escape.

“Appropriate action will be taken if we gather sufficient evidence,” he was quoted as saying by Sinar Harian.

He said statements had been taken from the policemen and prison officers who were on duty as well as other detainees who witnessed the escape.

No arrests have been made but certain officers have been removed from active duty while the investigation is ongoing, he said.

Shazeli said the search for Muhammad was ongoing, and that the escaped detainee was believed to be still in the Sungai Buloh area.

“We believe the detainee has yet to contact anyone, and that our efforts have succeeded in barring any form of communication between the suspect and his friends,” he said.

Muhammad, who was detained over alleged child sexual offences, escaped from police custody while being transferred to prison after completing court proceedings in Shah Alam.

He was last seen wearing an orange T-shirt and black trousers.

Police have tightened border checks and the manhunt was scaled up with help from the General Operations Force and the police’s internal security and public order department, among others.